Maryam Qonita

She has been working for empowering women and children and actively making a social campaign to stop child sexual abuse.– Nominator

Describe your contributions to and achievements in family planning.

I have been selected as the most outstanding student in Psychology through my paper about Child Sexual Abuse. I used to handle child sexual abuse as a vice president of the local NGO "Satu Hati" and the representative of P2TP2A (Integrated Service Centre for Empowering Women and Children) Kuningan. We provide them legal aid, psychology counseling, and provide health care. Right now, I am creating a social campaign in my city Jakarta to stop Child -Rape. And to provide better health care and sustainable psychology counseling, I am raising fund to build a condusive shelter for the victims. I was a moderator in International Conference on Family Planning 2016, in Nusa Dua Bali. And ICFP was a great experience so that I am more likely to have greater involvement in these kind of issues.

What sparked your passion for family planning?

Things change, people change, but family is forever.

What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced in your family planning efforts, and what have you done to overcome it?

The biggest challenge I've faced in family planning efforts is when I was assisting the victims of child sexual violence get their legal-right and psychological well being. They are still kids, and had been raped or even had been pregnant. The baby was also unhealthy. P2TP2A and Satu Hati NGO provide them with psychological counseling, so that it would no longer have power of them, and it won't causes several psychotic symptoms such as schizophrenia.

What is your (country/region/city)’s biggest challenge in family planning, and how can it be addressed?

It has been decades that Indonesia facing over population. That's Indonesia biggest challenge in family planning because it causes other serious problems such as unemployment, garbage accumulation, crime, inefficiency of public services and etc. And it can be addressed by reviving it's family planning program by making a firm decision to end the credo "More Children, More Benefit" and provide them full access information about family planning program.

What do you want to accomplish in the next 5 years?

By 2020, I would like to have a greater and greater involvement to stop child rape all over the world. I want to raise their hope to achieve their dreams. And I would like to end the public stigma that the child sexual abuse is a private tragedy. And there is no child sexual violence such as child marriage or even forced pregnancy.